Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Eric Plant pressed Rutgers-Newark professor Stubblefield about the sexual encounters with the disabled man and the controversial technique she claims to have used to communicate with him
NEWARK -- Facing off with an Essex County prosecutor, Rutgers-Newark professor Anna Stubblefield on Thursday rejected allegations she "raped" a disabled man.
During cross-examination at her trial on charges of sexually assaulting the 34-year-old man, known as D.J., Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Eric Plant pressed Stubblefield about the sexual encounters and the controversial technique she claims to have used to communicate with him.
Plant said she "had him on the floor of your office with the door locked," and questioned her about when she "raped (D.J.) on the yoga mat on the carpet."
But Stubblefield said she and D.J. had fallen in love and were in a consensual relationship.
"I didn't have him on the floor," Stubblefield told Plant. "He and I were mutually together on the floor.
"I did not rape (D.J.)," she later added.
Stubblefield, 45, of West Orange, is facing two counts of aggravated sexual assault for allegedly abusing D.J. in her Newark office in 2011. Rutgers has placed her on administrative leave without pay.
D.J., who suffers from cerebral palsy and other ailments, wears diapers and requires assistance with walking, bathing, dressing and eating, his mother has testified. Other than making noises, D.J. does not speak, his brother said.
The state's experts have testified D.J. has intellectual disabilities and is unable to consent to sexual activity, but Stubblefield claims D.J. is not intellectually impaired and that he consented through a method known as "facilitated communication."
With that method, Stubblefield claims D.J. communicated by typing on a keyboard as she provided physical support to him.
Stubblefield maintained D.J. was the one typing the messages, noting how he sometimes made mistakes and conveyed information she didn't know.
"It was very clear he was the author of his words. He certainly wasn't letting me call the shots or push him around in any way," Stubblefield said. "He wouldn't let me do anything that he didn't want me to do."
MORE: Professor had 'just a regular relationship' with disabled man, she says in court
But Plant grilled her about the controversy surrounding facilitated communication, which critics have said is ineffective in light of studies showing facilitators influencing the users' messages.
Plant noted how various professional organizations have issued statements declaring the technique to be invalid.
"Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that facilitated communication is not a scientifically valid technique for individuals with autism or mental retardation," said Plant, quoting a policy statement issued by the American Psychological Association.
Stubblefield argued most of those statements were adopted in the 1990s before studies were conducted that showed the method is valid, and she claimed the organizations have not re-evaluated the technique.
Stubblefield met D.J. in 2009 through his brother, then a Rutgers student, who was taking a course of Stubblefield's during which the professor discussed the technique. The brother later asked her for more information about the method to see if it might help D.J.
As Stubblefield worked with D.J. over the next two years, she claims he wrote papers that were presented at conferences and wrote essays for a literature class he took at Rutgers.
Stubblefield said she and D.J. ultimately revealed their sexual relationship to his mother and his brother in May 2011.
Plant pointed out D.J.'s mother and brother have been declared his legal guardians, and questioned how Stubblefield lied to them about what was taking place in her office with D.J.
Assistant prosecutor Eric Plant speaks during the trial of Rutgers-Newark professor Anna Stubblefield, 45, of West Orange, who is facing two counts of aggravated sexual assault for allegedly abusing a severely mentally disabled man in 2011. The trial is being heard before Superior Court Judge Siobhan Teare at the Essex County Courthouse in Newark. 9/9/15 (Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) Noting testimony from a former colleague of Stubblefield's that she is an ethical person, Plant asked her: "Under what theory do you think that it's appropriate ethically to lie to legal guardians of a person that's been declared mentally incompetent?"
Stubblefield told Plant D.J. is an "adult" and that it did not occur to her and D.J. to ask his family for permission before having sex.
"He's very much his own person. He makes his own decisions," Stubblefield said. "When people fall in love with each other, the last thing you're thinking about is, 'Hey, let's go ask our moms if it's okay.'"
When the cross-examination turned to the sexual acts, Plant sometimes used graphic descriptions, noting how she "pulled down his diaper" and performed oral sex on D.J.
Plant challenged how Stubblefield was allegedly able to communicate with D.J. during the sexual encounters. Plant questioned whether the keyboard was used and how D.J. could communicate if he wanted to stop.
Stubblefield said they used the keyboard before having sex as they talked and touched each other. Plant noted how Stubblefield had said the typing could be a slow process with D.J. using one finger at a time.
Stubblefield replied, "Fortunately, we had all day."
While they were having sex, D.J. knew to bang on the floor if he wanted to stop and the keyboard was beside them if he wanted to type a message, Stubblefield said.
But on the two occasions when they had sex, Stubblefield said there was "no need for interruptions" and that D.J. was "very happy."
Plant asked whether she saw any injuries on D.J.'s back, which his mother and brother later claimed to see. But Stubblefield said "there were never any injuries to his back."
Plant also pressed Stubblefield about her claim in a written document obtained by prosecutors that she asked D.J. about watching pornography, but he said pornography exploits women and that she was "more beautiful than any porn star."
As for how D.J. developed such ideas, Plant questioned whether Stubblefield was claiming D.J.'s mother and brother exposed him to pornography. Stubblefield suggested he had overheard people discussing the topic.
"He's not stupid," she said.
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.